Random Creepy Stories & Legends About Yosemite (14 items)

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  (#1) Grouse Lake Has Its Own Jason Voorhees

  Many hikers have reported a wailing sound erupting from Grouse Lake. The first documented report of this phenomenon came from Galen Clark, Yosemite’s first park ranger in 1867. Clark heard the cries and thought perhaps it was a dog so he asked the local Native American tribe if they’d lost one. They told him it wasn’t a dog and not to go after it.

  According to them, an indigenous boy drowned in the lake many years ago and now he haunts it, calling out to those who pass by. If anyone goes into the water after him, he’ll grab their feet and pull them down into the lake to drown.
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  (#2) The Norman Bates Of Yosemite

  In February 1999, 43-year-old Carole Sund, her 15-year-old daughter, Juli, and Juli's 16-year-old friend Silvina Pelosso checked into the Cedar Lodge and never checked out. A hiker found their red Pontiac torched deep in the mountains with Carole and Silvina in the trunk, and six days later, the FBI received a map leading them to Juli. Her throat had been slashed.  

  Then in July, a teacher at the Yosemite Institute, Joie Ruth Armstrong, went missing. Her body was found 27 feet away from her head in a drainage ditch. The deranged woman-hating lunatic responsible turned out to be Cedar Lodge’s handyman Cary Stayner. He would use his position to gain access to his victims. He confessed to everything, and also confessed he planned to kill his girlfriend and her daughter on Valentine's Day but didn't go through with it.
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  (#3) A Park Ranger Found Three Meticulously Severed Deer Heads On A Trail

  A ranger for the Backcountry Division in Yosemite Park recalls a strange experience while patrolling on foot. In the middle of a trail, he found a freshly severed deer head. The cut was clean and there was no body or blood to be found. Hunting was not legal during that time of year, so he surveyed the area, buried the head, and continued on. Half a mile later, he found a second deer head in the middle of the trail.

  Panic set in as he realized he was 30 miles away from his vehicle and whoever had done this could be watching him. Again, he surveyed the area, found nothing, and buried the head. Before finishing his patrol, he discovered a third deer head, almost completely stripped of skin. He reported the creepy trail of deer heads, but who put them there remains a mystery.
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  (#4) Mysterious Disappearances Are A Regular Occurrence

  Many children have gone missing in Yosemite with bizarre elements in common. They tend to disappear in locations rich with huckleberries, and many times, a storm follows, washing away tracks or clues. They are found very far away and are always missing clothing or shoes with no scrapes on their feet proving - almost like they teleported to a different part of the park.    
   
  Local lore tells of a few beasts that could be responsible, like the cannibalistic Wendigo or the mountain devils called Seeahtiks who possess hypnotic abilities and extraordinary strength.
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  (#5) Creatures Known As Nightcrawlers Lurk In The Woods

  These mysterious creatures have been spotted and captured on film in Fresno and Yosemite.

  The slow, awkward beings, which resemble a pair of white pants, have been given the nicknames “Nightcrawlers” and the “Fresno Alien.” 
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  (#6) A Teenager's Disappearance Sparked Conversations About Whether The National Parks Service Was Covering Up Such Incidents

  Stacy Ann Arras was 14 in 1981 when she was camping with family and friends in Yosemite. Wanting to go capture some photos at a nearby lake, she and an older member of the group headed that way. The older man allegedly stopped to rest halfway there and let Stacy go on ahead. She never returned, and not a single trace of her was ever found despite intense search and rescue attempts. Her widely publicized disappearance garnered the attention of paranormal author David Paulides, who conducted an investigation into the Arras disappearance and ultimately claimed that corruption among national park officials was suspicious and that something sinister might have been purposefully covered up in regards to Arras's strange disappearance.

  This has never been proven but has stirred up controversy around an already fearful topic.
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  (#7) The Sierra Sky Ranch Is A Former Sanatorium And Is Now Home To Phantom Children

  The Sierra Sky Ranch in Yosemite was originally built in 1875 as a cattle ranch then became a sanatorium for quarantining tuberculosis patients, many of whom were reportedly children. At some point in its history, it was also used to convalesce WWI veterans, and it is now a 29-room hotel.

  The place is widely known to be haunted, mainly by "phantom children" who can be reportedly heard giggling and whispering as they run through the hotel's halls. The main living room of the building is one of their favorite places, and light footsteps can often be heard tripping up and downstairs. They're not the only specters of Sierra Sky Ranch: up to five regular spirits are said to be residents, embodying both earthly and abstract forms (a woman who smells of perfume and specifically haunts the library and a rageful man).
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  (#8) An Evil Wind Dwells Near The Waterfalls

  According to the Ah-wah-nee tribes, there is an evil spirit of the wind called “Po-ho-no” that lurks near Yosemite’s waterfalls.

  Like a siren, this entity lures people to the edge of the falls and lets out a gust, sending them plummeting into the afterlife.    
   
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  (#9) The Ahwahnee Hotel Has An Attentive Ghost

  Former manager Mary Curry Tresidder allegedly haunts Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel. She passed in her living quarters on the top floor in 1970. Guests and staff members have all reported seeing the busy ghost bustling around the hallways, moving up and down the stairs and checking in on visitors. There have also been reports of a rocking chair moving on its own in one of the suites.

  The problem is, that suite doesn’t actually have a rocking chair in it. 
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  (#10) Campground Suicide Ghost

  Yosemite's camp number six is the backdrop for a tragic urban legend. One night, a camper took his life. No one knew why and there was no note. He was found hanging from the wooden frame of his tent. Many people say you can still see him swinging from that wooden frame on dark, lonely nights.

  Apparently, the best time to witness this phenomenon is between the hours of 11 p.m. and 3 a.m. 
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  (#11) Yosemite Is Bigfoot's Stomping Grounds

  A California Conservation Corps worker was camping in the Tuolumne meadows of Yosemite one night when he heard heavy footsteps heading straight for his tent. He went out to investigate and was faced with what he could only describe as the legendary Bigfoot.

  Once his brain processed what the roughly 600-pound beast covered in black fur and standing on two legs was, he screamed. To his surprise, the creature screamed back and retreated.
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  (#12) Tenaya Canyon Is Cursed

  Tenaya Canyon is often referred to as the Bermuda Triangle of Yosemite because of its connection to mysterious demises and unsolved disappearances. Local lore states Chief Tenaya of the Ahwahneechee tribe cursed the canyon back in the 1850s. A fight raged and American soldiers took the life of the chief’s son.

  Now, it’s believed the canyon is taking revenge on those who attempt to explore its dangerous terrain. 
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  (#13) There Was A UFO Sighting In Yosemite Near Area 51

  In September 2002, a strange light was captured on video in Yosemite near Area 51. It slowly hovered, gliding through the air, leaving a luminous trail behind it before disappearing.

  The witness that captured the footage says soon after the craft vanished, Air Force jets came out to the same location. They circled the area but the strange light never returned. 
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  (#14) El Capitan Is A Formidable Beast That Has Taken Dozens Of Climbers' And BASE Jumpers' Lives

  Yosemite has always lured adventurers and climbers, but it's not for the unprepared. Possibly because of the long-standing notoriety of deaths among extreme climbers and other sport enthusiasts, ghosts reportedly have surfaced in and around El Capitan, a giant rock formation in the center of the park.

  BASE jumping, or "building, antenna, span, and earth," is not legal in Yosemite National Park, and two risk-takers lost their lives breaking the rules on Yosemite's Taft Point in 2015. Noted BASE jumper Dean Potter and a buddy were killed instantly when they fell and their wingsuits failed, to the horror of Potter's girlfriend and anyone who later watched footage captured on the jumpers' helmet cameras. Potter's death set a whole new tone against BASE jumping in Yosemite and elsewhere, but the sport continues.

   

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